Hifiman he-400i Impressions and Discussion

[Djsenjaya]

I'm considering Valhalla 2 for my hd650 and he400i. But price + shipping + tax will cost me 2x price of Valhalla 2. Around 700-800usd. So I want to make sure if this was the right Choice to choose this amp. I am considering lyr too but I don't know if this was the right choice. I wanted to try schiit amp cause the quality was proven.

And this will be my ultimate amp if I've ever bought a new headphone too. Please help me to choose an decent amp

 

[drwlf]

  Love the Mojo as a DAC, as an amps its not that great.  Funny how the Hugo is rated the same output as the Mojo but it just pairs better with the headphones that I've tried it with.

 
Odd, somehow I recall that most peeps have enjoyed the Mojo with 400i over Hugo, akin to more smoother presentation and taking some of the edge off 400i? But then again, using the search, the latest replies seem to be the rather opposite

 

[DavidA]

   
Odd, somehow I recall that most peeps have enjoyed the Mojo with 400i over Hugo, akin to more smoother presentation and taking some of the edge off 400i? But then again, using the search, the latest replies seem to be the rather opposite

I used the Hugo with HD-800 and HE-560, didn't bother to test with 400i since I like the 400i straight from UD-301 or with the Ember.  One thing my friend and I noticed is that while the HD-800 sounds quite good with the Hugo its not that good with vocal dominated genres, the super wide sound stage is strange for vocals, but for classical and jazz it was really good while the HE-560 and Hugo combination was great for vocal dominated genres.

 

[fjrabon]

I'm considering Valhalla 2 for my hd650 and he400i. But price + shipping + tax will cost me 2x price of Valhalla 2. Around 700-800usd. So I want to make sure if this was the right Choice to choose this amp. I am considering lyr too but I don't know if this was the right choice. I wanted to try schiit amp cause the quality was proven.

And this will be my ultimate amp if I've ever bought a new headphone too. Please help me to choose an decent amp

I'd say if you were going to go with only 1 amp, get the Lyr 2.  The Valhalla 2 isn't nearly as versatile.  The Lyr 2 will go well with anything you throw at it, while the Valhalla 2 is much more dependent on having the right match with your headphones.  It would sound great with the HD650, but is fairly mediocre with the HE400i, and I thought flat out bad with the HE560 and LCD line.  Also sounded bloated with low impedance dynamics as well.  TO me, the Valhalla only hits its stride with high impedance dynamic headphones, like the high impedance Beyerdynamics and Sennheiser's professional cans (HD600, HD650, HD800).

 

[Djsenjaya]

I'd say if you were going to go with only 1 amp, get the Lyr 2.  The Valhalla 2 isn't nearly as versatile.  The Lyr 2 will go well with anything you throw at it, while the Valhalla 2 is much more dependent on having the right match with your headphones.  It would sound great with the HD650, but is fairly mediocre with the HE400i, and I thought flat out bad with the HE560 and LCD line.  Also sounded bloated with low impedance dynamics as well.  TO me, the Valhalla only hits its stride with high impedance dynamic headphones, like the high impedance Beyerdynamics and Sennheiser's professional cans (HD600, HD650, HD800).

So lyr will be my ultimate dac for a while. I think I have to recheck my bank account first. Lol

 

[Ancipital]

So lyr will be my ultimate dac for a while. I think I have to recheck my bank account first. Lol

Lyr is not a DAC, it is a headphone amplifier, analogue in and analogue out.

 

[taetertot]

Where did you buy your he400i? I've ask my friend on china to buy it from taobao (hifiman authorized seller) for very cheap price (1249rmb) and it arrived with some minor scratches. I hope it was not refurbished product.

 
 
I got them from Samtech Audio. I do want to make it clear, any problem I had was with Hifiman, not Samtech. Mike at Samtech seems like a standup guy, and I would order from Samtech again.
 
The scratches are minor and I'm fine with them, my only concern is the tech who did the conversion was sloppy. But what am I going to do, ship $250 phones back and demand another set over a few scratches? It should have been obvious to me from the start that the units with lowered prices are converted units. That's what I ordered, that's what I got, and luck of the draw determines if yours was converted by a tech who was careful not to scratch the cups.
 
 
edit: THESE SOUND AMAZING. Listening to Yours is No Disgrace right now. OMG. These are as good as my Alpha Primes. Different, but as good. Power hungry though... I can take the volume knob on Magni 2 Uber just about all the way up on low gain, and this is not a weak amp I don't think. I wonder if my Fiio E10K can drive these satisfactorily. I doubt my Galaxy S4 could.
 
Not nearly as comfortable as the Alpha Primes though. But much more comfortable than my sr80e.

 

[leo5111]

RETURN IT....a GOOD tech would not scratch up the cups doing the conversion, so who knows how good the job inside is.....thats what i think

 

[taetertot]

  RETURN IT....a GOOD tech would not scratch up the cups doing the conversion, so who knows how good the job inside is.....thats what i think

 
 
 
That's the mindset I was in last night right after I got the cans. But I don't want to do that to the reseller when he did nothing wrong and treated with me fairly. They sound great, and I looked in the cups and everything looks ok. These cost me $249 shipped for phones with an MSRP of $450. It'd be unreasonable of me to expect the same unit as the guys who pay $450.

 

[DavidA]

   
 
 
That's the mindset I was in last night right after I got the cans. But I don't want to do that to the reseller when he did nothing wrong and treated with me fairly. They sound great, and I looked in the cups and everything looks ok. These cost me $249 shipped for phones with an MSRP of $450. It'd be unreasonable of me to expect the same unit as the guys who pay $450.

Did you take a look to see if you have the backing plate?

 

[Ancipital]

  Did you take a look to see if you have the backing plate?

 
People should be aware that you don't need to dismantle anything to check.. You can see from the outside:
 

 
That's my pair.. look at the left unit, the angle is just right to see the back of the driver.

 

[taetertot]

   
People should be aware that you don't need to dismantle anything to check.. You can see from the outside:
 

 
That's my pair.. look at the left unit, the angle is just right to see the back of the driver.

 
 
Mine look exactly like that. I can also see the upper curve of a thin cable loop extending out from the connectors right in front of those backplates. I tried taking a picture but you can't make it out.
 
 
Incidentally I hate the stock cable. The jacket is too stiff, it's too short, the connector double whammies you with 3.5mm and angled, and the plug will not fit into my Galaxy S4 if I have a case on. Not that this matters since the GS4 can't drive the HE 400i. I ordered the Dyson Audio gotham cable for $52 to use while I choose between the Hifiman crystalline cable or the Norne Audio Vanquish.
 
Also incidentally, I got Hifiman case and stand. The HE 400i will not fit the case without really jamming it in there. So I would advise against the case unless you want to take a knife to the foam. I haven't done that because this material looks like it will crumble and flake if I cut into it. The stand is fine. I actually might use this over my Woo Audio stand. Not my photo but one from Head Fi:
 

 

[Ancipital]

  Incidentally I hate the stock cable. The jacket is too stiff, it's too short, the connector double whammies you with 3.5mm and angled, and the plug will not fit into my Galaxy S4 if I have a case on. Not that this matters since the GS4 can't drive the HE 400i. I ordered the Dyson Audio gotham cable for $52 to use while I choose between the Hifiman crystalline cable or the Norne Audio Vanquish.
 
Also incidentally, I got Hifiman case and stand. The HE 400i will not fit the case without really jamming it in there. So I would advise against the case unless you want to take a knife to the foam. I haven't done that because this material looks like it will crumble and flake if I cut into it. The stand is fine. I actually might use this over my Woo Audio stand. Not my photo but one from Head Fi:

 
The case fits just fine. Slide the headphone adjusters to the top liek you would for a really big head, and the HE-400i go in easily. It's better to have the narrow side of the pads downwards so they compress less. I keep my HE-560 in my case now, but the 400i went in easily too.
 
I totally agree on the cable- stiff and awkward- hate it. I had Forza Audioworks make me nice copper cables, one balanced and one SE. Here's that same picture of my balanced cable:
 

 
That's a Claire HPC Mk2, if you're wondering, with black insulation. People are going to be sick of seeing that pic soon. I know audiobling cables can sometimes seem like overkill, but the stock cable is so annoying that I overcompensated. I love the Forza cables, though- they're pliable, they feel and look so much nicer.
 
There are also decent, less pricey aftermaket cables out there, if you look.

 

[darkninja67]

getting my HE-400i tomorrow.
 
How is that Jotunheim with the Hifimans?
 
I am looking for a do it all DAC/amp to power the cans in my sig.

 

[Ancipital]

  getting my HE-400i tomorrow.
 
How is that Jotunheim with the Hifimans?
 
I am looking for a do it all DAC/amp to power the cans in my sig.

 
I like the combo, but find that it really benefits an unexpected amount from using a balanced cable out of the Jot- especially the sound stage for some reason. It wasn't as piercing or overly-trebletastic as I feared.
 
Do note that I wasn't using the built-in Delta/Sigma DAC, but the Modi 2 Multibit, though.
 
A good alternative is to get the Mimby and a Vali 2 (as ever, EH6CG7 tube recommended), as a tiny little stack. It will cost a similar amount, and give you a much airier sound, with a deeper soundstage- if you're mostly wanting to drive the HE-400i.
 
If, however, you think you might like to get HD650/HD6xx at some point, the Jotunheim is a killer option- it's decent with the HE-400i, but amazing with the HD650. That combo is weirdly good, you'd have to spend Black Widow amounts of money to make the HD650 sound noticably better, otherwise.
 
It's trade-offs all the way down, as ever!